Michael Smith will be a Hearts player beyond the end of his current contract, the player has confirmed.
The Northern Irish international only signed his current deal in January, which takes him up until the end of this season.
But Smith admitted there’s an extension clause for another year that will automatically kick in once he plays a certain number of games.
Given his importance to the team and relative lack of injuries, that’s almost guaranteed to happen.
It’s almost five years since Smith arrived from Peterborough United.
His signing was somewhat overshadowed due to signing at the same time as compatriot Kyle Lafferty.
After 19 goals though, the striker jumped at the chance to head back to Rangers.
By contrast, Smith has become part of the furniture at Tynecastle, racking almost 150 appearances in maroon and often assuming the captain’s armband when required.
With his young family settled in Edinburgh, the 33-year-old sees no reason to up sticks at this stage of his career.
“I’m settled here and my son starts school this month. There is another year’s option on my contract and I’m happy here. I hope the gaffer is happy with me so we will see what happens,” he said.
“Everyone knows I want to be here. I've been at Hearts for as long as I can remember now and it’s a great club. The fanbase is huge, Edinburgh is a great city and my family are all settled here.
“For me, there is no reason to go anywhere else. Basically, if I do well enough to play enough games this season then I think we can extend the contract.”
A change of shape has meant a change of role for Smith.
A dependable right back and good for a goal, Smith has been pushed slightly further forward and used as a wing back in Robbie Neilson ’s 3-4-3 formation.
“I don’t think people can complain about being too defensive,” Smith told the Edinburgh Evening News. “In the Premiership, sometimes you will be without the ball for long periods so you need to be tight at the back and stay in shape.
“The boys in the middle help, and we get our shape right from the front three to stop teams getting a foothold in games. We work hard at it on the training ground and we are reaping the rewards.
“I enjoy wing-back. I’m nearly 33 but I’m still as fit as ever, there’s no problem there. I’ve struck up a good partnership with Gino [Josh Ginnelly] ahead of me on the wing.”
The change has had a positive effect not just on results, but on the number of goals Hearts concede.
That’s just one in their first five competitive games, all of which they have won.
Smith has seen gradual improvements since the end of last season, and of course having a top notch goalkeeper helps.
“Towards the end of last season, through the Premier Sports Cup and the start of the league, we’ve looked solid,” he said.. “The back three has been pretty settled and we want to keep the momentum going. We built a solid base last year and it helped us win the league. If we keep it tight at the back again, we can have a good season.
“The year we got relegated, we were all over the place. We conceded too many goals so it’s massive to keep it tight at the back. Having Craig Gordon behind us helps a lot. The late save he made against Celtic was world-class so it’s working well at the minute.”
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